HIV Susceptibility of human antigen-specific CD4 T cells in AIDS pathogenesis and vaccine response

ABSTRACT

HIV causes infection and progressive depletion of human CD4 T cells. Emerging data have shown that antigen-specific CD4 T-cell subsets manifest differential susceptibility to HIV, potentially leading to pathogen-specific immune failure and opportunistic infections. This concept was recently explored in context of vectors utilized in HIV vaccine trials, and the data suggest that adenovirus type 5(Ad5)-specific CD4 T cells elicited by Ad5-HIV vaccine may be particularly susceptible to HIV, potentially rendering Ad5 vaccine recipients susceptible to HIV acquisition. We here examined recent data regarding the HIV susceptibility of antigen-specific CD4 T cells induced during infection or HIV vaccination and discussed its potential impact on HIV acquisition risk posed by HIV vaccination.

KEYWORDS:

• HIV vaccine
• CD4 T cells
• HIV susceptibility
• antigen specificity
• pathogenesis

Financial and competing interests disclosure

This work was funded by grants from NIH (R21AI110214) and the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation (to H Hu). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.